


The Guardian

by TheSaintOfAllSaints



Category: Borderlands (Video Games)
Genre: Bad Jokes, Before borderlands 2 but after TPS, Canon-Typical Violence, F/M, Jack is a shitty boss, Mild Cursing, Mild Jack and Oc - bc she legit does not care for him, Nova is not a good person, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Vasquez is mentioned too, nsfw-ish, title might get changed - idk
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-14
Updated: 2019-06-25
Packaged: 2020-03-05 14:24:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 18,202
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18830470
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheSaintOfAllSaints/pseuds/TheSaintOfAllSaints
Summary: Jack had a bodyguard, a long time ago, her name was Nova and to Jack, she had an emotional range of a rock.Here's how it went.





	1. Roadtrip

**Author's Note:**

> Had a stupid idea, my friend fueled me and now I'm here.

Nova stared at Jack as he threw his bitch fit, he threw a cup across the room and the coffee that was in it spilt all over the floor and walls. The engineer that it was aimed at let out a weak laugh, which was a critical mistake on his part.

Jack rounded up on him, his face in the face of the engineer and a finger on the guy’s chest, digging in so hard that Nova was sure it’d leave a bruise on the corpse. The engineer would most unquestionably end up a corpse now.

“Are you laughing at me? Do you think that loaderbots developing a personality is a good thing? Is that funny to you? Huh?” Jack seethed and Nova wondered how much angrier he would have to get to foam at the mouth like a deranged skag.

The engineer spluttered and Nova felt a light tap on her shoulder. She tilted her head, not taking eyes off Jack and waited for whoever to speak to her.

“Th-” With a quivering voice the woman began, “That engineer is the best we have, if Mr Handsome Jack kills him we’ll be at a loss.”

“Jack! The lady here tells me they’ll be lost without the guy if you kill him.”

The woman beside her gasped, took a step back. “I- I… Why did yo-”

“What did you want me to do? Restrain Jack?” Nova shrugged, she didn’t really care and doubted that Jack would care either.

Jack shoved the lead engineer into the coffee stained wall before turning to the woman. He grabbed her waist, jostled her into his side and looked down into her eyes. A sly smile on his face, a smile that Nova knew was as fake as her legs.

“So,” His voice seemed sweet almost, “You’re telling me you’re incompetent on your own?” He motioned for the lead engineer to follow him and when the man didn’t move, Nova grabbed the back of his shirt and dragged him behind Jack. “That this whole floor is going to be useless without one measly man?”

The woman tried to explain herself but Jack wasn’t listening. “Well, that’s fine! He is the lead engineer for a reason right-” He checked the woman’s name tag, “Zoey?” The woman nodded and Nova adjusted her grip on the squirming man.

“So, you have...ugh, six hours to get this fixed or everyone’s family is getting murdered!” Jack’s laugh reverberated in the warehousing hall. He pushed the woman away from him, she stumbled into a metal desk and Nova manhandled the lead engineer beside Zoey.

“Oh, fuck, I’m starving - Nova, let’s go eat.” Jack spun on his heel to face her.

They left for a pizzeria on the luxury levels, before they left Jack closed the engineers on their floor and overrode any and all access to the floor that wasn’t approved by him first.

“Meg get a new AID team.” Nova watched as Jack stuffed his face with pizza.

“A what team?” Meg, his secretary piped up through the echocomm.

“Artificial. Intelligence. Development. Team. NOW.” He actually took the pizza slice out of his mouth to answer.

“Ah! Yes, sir!. AH, just one more thing s-sir. You have a meeting with the fashion department this Wednesday. It's ab-” Jack disconnected the call ate the rest of his pizza slice.

Nova sipped on her coffee and watched the people milling around them. Jack was preoccupied with his food, tapping his clean fingers on the echocomm and grumbling quietly to himself. She reached for the second last slice when a group of interns came up to their table. The seemed to be the inters for the top management, they had those gaudy jackets she hated and hair slicked back with too much hair gel. They were excited and loudly talking about how cool Jack was. One of the girls from the group giggled and nodded when another whispered something into her ear.

“I know I’m cool but deal with it.” Jack didn’t look up from the echocomm.

The group came up, a few people cleared out knowing what would happen. “Fuck off,” Nova told them before they reached the table. They ignored her, of course, they always did. So, Nova who had a policy of giving out only one warning pulled out her Hyperion pistol and shot one in the knee. “Fuck off and shut up.”

The lad that got shot wailed but his friend clamped a hand on his mouth, hushing him and motioning at his friends to help him. Another two picked him up and dragged him away, leaving a bloody trail behind them.

"Oi Cannon fodder," She pointed at the smallest one of the intern group, "Send a cleaning bot."

“Idiots,” Jack stated.

At one point the waiter came up, placed a pot of coffee in between them and left. Out of habit Nova popped open the coffee pot lid and placed a slip of paper in it. It turned a dull brick colour. The coffee was fine to drink so she poured it for herself then Jack. They sat in silence at the table for over two hours.

“I’m bored,” Nova muttered.

“Hi Bored, I’m Jack.”

“Jackass.”

“Very original.” He sat back and went back to typing on his echocomm. Soon he turned it and let Nova read what he sent out to the engineers that were locked up.

**_I would like to apologise for the inconvenience you have suffered as your whole family is dead now._ **   
**_By my order BTW._ **   
**_;)_ **

Nova barked a short laugh, Jack laughed like a madman and everyone who wasn’t them looked horrified.

Jack got up, Nova followed him out.

They went back to the AID department and all the engineers there looked mortified. Some had tear streaks on their faces, puffy eyes and some had a murderous look on their face. One man rushed Jack with a screwdriver but with a swift kick to the centre of his thorax Nova sent him flying into a hanging loaderbot.

Jack laughed, clapped his hands to get everyone’s attention.“I know it's been three hours, not the given six, but I grew impatient and forgot to inform you about the changed DEADline.”

With that, they left to be in the safe zone, behind thick glass where they could watch the venting. Jack started to slowly and dramatically open the airlock, singing a theme song from a movie Nova saw only once.

Nova watched uninterested as the people, loaderbots and everything else in the locked off hall was sucked out. She nudged Jack and pointed to the lead engineer and Zoey trying to hold onto a bolted down table. Jack laughed and waved at them. Zoey shot Nova a glare to which she responded with a sneer just before the woman let go.

“Are you still bored sweetheart?”

She hated when he called her one of his pet-names. “Yes.”

Jack scowled. They left for his office. On the elevator ride up was Nova leaned against the wall with her arms crossed and Jack glowered at her.

When he finally spoke his voice was even and if she was anyone else she’d think she’d be scared. “Why?”

Why was she bored? Who wouldn’t be bored working for some lunatic of a CEO cooped up on a space station?

“It was interesting at the start but now you’re just… cooped up on this station the whole time. Fans aren’t any real threats, most people even shit themselves at the idea of pointing a gun at you, plus you’re capable enough to kill so what's the point of me being here?”

“You want me to fire you?”

She shrugged, not really worrying about being fired. Jack scowled even harder in the other corner of the elevator, his arms now crossed as he stared at her. She watched him, her echo-eye measuring his body temperature, heart rate and underneath that she had the latest intergalactic news popping up. He seemed calm, the face was just a facade.

“No.” Jack finally spoke. “You’re not getting fired. Not because I can’t handle myself, because I can. You said so yourself but because I need someone competent around me. Blake’s too busy scouting out potential employees and new contracts. Meg is boring herself and can't play cards to save her life.”

That sounded more like he needed a friend or quite simply someone he could talk to that didn't hate, fear or planned on killing him. Same thing in the end. The elevator dinged and they got off in his reception area. Meg was touch-typing away at her workstation only saying a timid hello.

The bald mail-guy was there too, his whole body shaking at the fact that he got to see Handsome Jack, or maybe it was because Jack decided to ‘tip’ him by sticking three credits onto the guy’s head. Nova just watched him with a cold gaze, the man scurried away with is mail cart.

Nova trailed Jack into his office and went straight to the mini bar to pour them both whiskey, three ice pieces in each. Jack was already at his workstation, typing away and ignoring his stack of paperwork. She set one at Jack’s left hand and started drinking hers, waiting for Jack to continue their conversation.

“Where was I….AH, yes! Boring? How can my presence be boring, how can I be boring?”

“I never said you were boring Jack. I said this job got boring.” She swirled the ice cubes, Jack remembered very well what her contract said, they both brought up points that suited them during their tiffs.

Only under the circumstances of death, treason, inability due to old age or due to the employee’s boredom the contract will be immediately terminated. In exchange, the employee has no right to refuse anything that is asked of her no matter the nature of it.

“Why did you take this job on in the first place?”

“I was jaded.”

Jack let out an exasperated snort. “You’re lucky that I don’t kill you for half the shit I let you get away with.”

“Language.” She cautioned him just like he would if she cursed. That riled him up but Nova interjected before he could go on a hissy fit. “Also, I’ve never been in a battle royale competition before and it seemed fun.”

“You’re uncanny.” Jack’s previous hostility seemed to simmer down. She liked to toe the line between keeping him pissed and calm. “Well, I can’t throw you a battle royal even-”

“You’d do that for me?”

“Would you just sh- be quiet for a hot sec,” Jack shouted at her but she just quirked a brow at him. “Last time I had to deal with goddamned intergalactic HR, do you know what a pain in the ass they are? A major one! SO! Instead, we’ll take a little trip to that shit hole planet Pandora and see how the engineers in Opportunity are doing.” He slapped his hands against the desk. “Can get a lot more creative then venting them - that is getting boring I will give you that. Now, you have the rest of the day off. Go get laid, relax or hell if you really want to go kill the whole fashion department so I don’t have to look at those god awful hoodie designs.” Jack waved her off.

She left from his private transition point, she showed up at the communal landing for her and Jack’s Doppelganger. She hasn’t seen him around and she wondered how he was doing.

On her way in she straightened out the large canvas painting that looked like a feral child went crazy with the paint. Once she stepped into her home she activated music with her echoeye. She decided on a lazy day after a workout. It was one of those rare occasions she could do more than her daily three hours.

She changed her shoes, swapped her black armour for black training gear, grabbed her water bottle and teleported to the high-end gym reserved for very few people. She did her quick stretches and started off with a run, she used her echoeye to continued playing the music from her apartment in her audio implants. She ran laps until her eye showed her she did 10K. She moved onto weighted push-up, pull-up, squats and such. She was sweaty, ached filled, hot mess when she finished so she teleported back to her home to shower.

In the bathroom, she let her hair loose from the complex braid and then she took out hair clippers. She buzzed off the too long strands of her fringe that kept annoying her for the past four days. Wiping off her minimal makeup off she cracked her neck.

She disconnected her prosthetics - first, it was her legs, she hissed at the feeling. It felt like someone was quite literally ripping her legs off and setting her nerves on fire. She massaged her thighs where the connectors were and put on her simple showering legs. Simple plastic ones that covered her connectors and didn't connect to the couple of wires that served as her nerve endings, the wires just dangled in the plastic containers.

Next were her fingers - both thumbs, both pointer fingers and eventually her left ring and pinky fingers. She always wondered at how her fingers could withstand things her legs couldn't. Being washed was one of them, her legs were water resistant but not take a swim or a hot shower proof.

She wobbled into her shower, holding herself up against the wall and bending down to grab her showering stool. She plopped down with a heavy sigh, she felt old and inefficient in those moments.

“Activate shower.”

The warm stream of water splashed her in the face and she grimaced. Nova could still hear the music that was left playing in her apartment and sang along to it as she washed her self. She massaged her thighs, trying to get the knots and kinks out as best as she could.

Nova stepped out and made sure to dry her hands off first before picking up her right side fingers and attaching them with her mouth. After that, it was easy to complete her left hand and to dry her legs off. She sat on her black marble bathroom sink, beside her high tech legs laid on a towel. She detached her plastic ones and started to clean around the connectors with a q-tip. With a fresh q-tip, she applied a blistering cream onto the skin around the technology. The skin there was sensitive, sore, constantly blistered and irritated.

Next, she cleaned her legs, making sure that the connectors on both ends were pristine. She wiped down each part, taking the leg apart and checking the wires and cushions inside. She would need to tell Jack she would need a maintenance day or an upgrade for her legs.

Once again she groaned when she attached her proper legs, her nerves feeling like they were being filled with lava and spreading up her spine. She was sore, to say the least, from her workout and her pre- and post- showering adventure. Her lower back ached from her plastic legs since walking on them was like walking on stilts, the knees didn't bend in them and the amount of effort she had to put into keeping herself up was absurd.

She put on fresh loungewear since she favoured sleeping naked. Nova walked out and not knowing what to do so she did the first thing that came to her mind. She ordered ice-cream and a bottle of whiskey. While she waited she went to check if Jack’s doppelganger - Jackie was around but after knocking on his door trice and waiting she decided he was not.

Her lips formed a thin line, she wasn't particularly happy that he was gone, however deliberating why someone wasn't home wasn't her style. As she waited for the order to arrive she wondered if she should get a cat but decided against it. The order arrived via a drone that was allowed only into the landing area of the apartment complex.

Nova plopped down on her couch and browsed the premium channels. Her ultimate perk was having access and the ability to get everything she wanted without paying. However, the downside was she got no proper wages, more like occasional pocket money that she barely ever spent.

She switched off the music, her echo-notifications, went to get a spoon plopped down again and tucked into her ice-cream tub. It was meant for two people but with her metabolism, she happily planned on eating it all.

Nova watched a nature documentary about some lush planet that was filled with killer plants and house a species that were a distant cousin to skags.

She didn’t bother with a fresh glass for her whiskey and chugged it straight from the bottle. She was nearing the end of her bottle, the documentary, the leftover ice cream was a melted mess in the tub she was so absorbed in the documentary that she didn’t notice Jack walking in.

“Hey!” She looked at Jack, “I’ve been trying to contact you but you just had to turn off your notifications.” Jack crossed his arms and a deep scowl set on his face.

Nova blinked at Jack who made himself comfortable in the chair she never used herself. He reached for her tub of ice-cream and grimaced at the contents before starting to drink it from the tub. “I really gotta come down here to tell you to bring that prototype shield? Huh? I have -” He wiped some ice cream from the corner of his mouth, “I have other shit to do.”

“I would have read it in the morning.” She turned back to her documentary and Jack remained silent. The documentary finished and another started, Jack got up rummaged through her cupboards and opened a pack of pretzels she forgot she had. She didn’t tell him that they were probably stale and out of date, he seemed happy enough to eat them for her. At one point Jack fell asleep in the chair, his legs contorted in a weird position, head lolled back and arms splayed over the backrest. He didn’t wake up when she moved him onto the couch or threw a Hyperion yellow blanket over him.

Nova brushed her teeth, threw her clothes into the furthest corner of her room and proceeded to lay in bed. She scrolled through her notifications and snorted when she saw the 10+ messages from Jack. 'What a needy man child' she thought and stared out her ceiling to floor, wall to wall window until she drifted off.

When she woke up she was alone in the apartment, strolling in her robe to the kitchen. She saw a used bowl and spoon in her sink, her cereal box on the island counter along with her milk. A sticky note was stuck to the milk carton.

**_-Bring prototype shield_ **   
**_-Meet up in the office at 8.00_ **   
**_-Water your plants_ **   
**_-Enjoy breakfast_ **   
**_:)_ **

She rolled her eyes after reading it but decided it was a good plan of action. She looked at the clock which showed 6.15 and made herself food. She scrolled through her newsfeed and found nothing of interest so when she finished she decided to do a quick workout. She went to the corner of her room where the punching bag was and went to town on it. After that she went to wipe herself down with a wet rag, she didn't feel like being stinky (even though she'd sweat like a pig in Pandora's heat) nor like disconnecting her legs to take a full shower again. The rest of her routine was sorting out her looks, applying waterproof eyeliner and mascara, braiding her hair.

She made herself coffee after that, sat at her island to drink it. She had her gear chip on the table along with her storage unit. She discarded the weapon codes she didn’t want and scanned in new ones.

With over half an hour to spare she walked into her wardrobe. It had more guns and trinkets then clothes in it as Nova saw no point in owning more then what she needed. She looked through her clothing and picked out the first items she grabbed that made an outfit. She had a whole 3 colours in her wardrobe - black, white and yellow which Jack insisted on her having.

She only made sure to pick her lighter clothing for the heat she was expecting, which happened to be all black and as always it was armoured. Her boots were heavy which was an additional weight and a weight she didn't want but had no choice to bare. She clipped the prototype shield onto her belt but made sure her usual shield was coded in her storage unit, a prototype was never to be trusted until it was official.

At 7.58 she was in Jack's office alone, scrolling again through the Echonet. Jack came in, or at least that is what everyone else though. It was actually Jack's doppelganger, she called him Jackie when Jack was around but Jimothy when they were alone much to his dismay. She called him his real name once - Timothy, but he made such a fuss of it she decided she didn’t want to deal with him if that was his reaction to it. She actually enjoyed his company, he was kinder then Jack and a better sparring partner than their employer.

“Hi, you.”

“Hey Jackie, how's life?”

He shrugged and they both chatted idly while waiting for Jack. Jackie told her about his last mission, showed her some cat video he liked and a joke he saw on the echonet when Jack showed up seven minutes late.

“Right Jack,” Jack began to his doppelganger, “Do all the paperwork I don't wanna do, go to the fashion department and do whatever I’d do there, go find that one and see how the new AID team is going. Oh, don't forget to look sexy and awesome.”

Jackie furrowed his brow at the mention of the AID team but Nova mouther ‘Ask Meg’ at him and nodded his thanks.

“Ready sweetcheeks?” Jack turned to her. She nodded and waited for Jack to teleport.

“Thanks for that,” Jackie told her. “Stay safe.”

“You too Jimothy.” He smiled at that. “The cat was cute.” She didn’t really care about the cat but she knew it’d make him happy.

She teleported to Jack, which turned out to be The Dust, and saw him picking out an outrunner for them.

“Sooo. Change of plans. Kind of. Opportunity still has no teleportation units we have to drive there. Oh, but why didn't we teleport to the wildlife reservation instead of stopping here? Good question Nova, I'm glad you're paying attention. Well, you wanted to be not bored so road trip! Heard those are not boring.”

Nova pointed out that staring at a barren wasteland while he or she drove wasn't all that interesting. Jack started yelling but Nova tuned him out. He settled on “running over skag is fun and there are bandits that will probably want to kill them so killing them first should be fun”. Nova gave him the benefit of doubt on that.

They finally started their journey in the yellow outrunner, Jack driving of course while Nova sat beside him. They didn't talk for the first hour or so, Jack turned the radio on but after the same song played for the 6th time Nova turned it off. They started telling each other jokes and stories they found amusing. So it wasn't completely boring with Jack's storytelling, he was entertaining and even with him letting the steering wheel go while they were ploughing through the sand dunes Nova felt at ease. Jack even made it a point to run over skags, reversing over them and cursing when a spitter skag hit and melted part of the hood of the vehicle.

At one point they swapped seats and Nova pressed down the pedal as far as she could. Jack liked to drive fast but Nova drove even faster and when Jack yelled at her to slow down she sped up even more.

That shut him up. When a group of bandit technicals started chasing them Nova felt alive and let out a puff of air as a laugh. Jack clambered into the gunner's seat and she could hear him whooping. He probably didn't realise that he needed to get out and get a change of pace too.

After travelling for around sixteen hours they decided to camp. Jack napped (after complaining that it was too bright) while Nova kept guard.

She stayed up for five more hours, watching the horizon line and the sky. They were camped by a mountainside, the outrunner shielding them from prying eyes. Jack was slumped against it in a sleeping bag that Nova digistructed for him because apparently he knew about needing to sleep outside but didn't prepare for it. Her watch was quiet for the most part, she had to only kill few bandits trying to creep up on them. She snuck up on them when they were nearing the vehicle and used her knife to take them out. Jack didn't even stir, just kept snoring away. When he woke up it was to the smell of burning flesh.

Jack drove. Nova slept. They got to the wildlife reservation during the night.

Jack stormed in, ordering the nearest person to find the head honcho, he then proceeded to kick the man out of his room and set up base there. He told Nova to sleep and she did, she took the bed and scrunched up her face at the fact that she had to sleep in her dirty clothing. She woke up while it was still dark, with still nine hours to daylight. Jack was still up typing on his echotab and muttering to himself.

She got up, walked to the kitchen barefooted, Jack didn’t notice her and jumped when she placed a burgundy cup of tea at his hand.

“Go sleep Jack,” She turned the mug so the handle was easy for him to grab. “Can’t deal with you when you’re grumpy.”

He muttered something, drank some of his drink and looked surprised when he found out it there was whiskey in it too.

“Already slept remember?”

“Your sleeping habits are as screwed up as mine. You need to sleep now.” She really was a glorified babysitter, her echoeye picked up on all the signs that Jack's body was tired. Lower temperature, jittery leg and the chills that ran down his spine.

Jack crossed his arms and sipped his whiskey. “You know. Anyone else saying things that you say to me would be dead by now. So, just a fair warning not to cross the damn line and make me kill you. I’d actually be sad.”

Nova didn't point out that he repeated what he said the cycle before but she did let out a short laugh at him which pissed him off. He slammed the cup down, stood up and threw a punch at Nova, he must have been in a really foul mood. She dodged it with ease, caught his hand and ducked behind him. She wrapped her hands around his torso, lifted him up and dragged him to bed like a stubborn cat. Jack cursed and flailed around, at one point he even tried to bite her.

She flung him onto the bed, he weighed barely anything to her and she mildly misjudged how hard she should have thrown him. He bounced off the bed, his body hitting the floor with a loud thud.

He pushed himself up from the floor, his hair a wild mess and a lopsided smile on his face. Nova just tilted her head, amused, she should have aimed his head at the headboard, knock him out that way. He did his best to vault over the mattress and quite possibly try to get his hands on Nova's neck. With a sly glint in her eyes, Nova stepped outside of the bedroom and closed the door. She locked him in the bedroom and ignored the commotion he was causing.

She sat where Jack was, looked at his echo and drank the rest of his whiskey tea. She knew that Jack had a unique lock on his echo, one she knew how to bypass from simply observing him. She used her left hand to simulate his fingerprints, entered his password which she figured out was binary code a long time ago of staring at him type it in. It took her less time to crack what it meant.

She wondered why he chose such a password but she'd never pry. She also knew that if she didn't keep Jack's fingerprints activated on her fake fingers she'd be locked out, Jack would know about her snooping and she'd have a calamity to deal with.

A chat popped up, no name to show with whom he was talking. She scrolled through it, being careful not to send a message to the person. She scrolled a good three months back before starting to read, most of them she skimmed, nothing really catching her attention. She stopped when she saw something interesting which so far there were three messages, each apart by at least a couple of days.

**_HJ: I've installed new software to keep you going_ **   
**_Unknown: Thank you, sir._ **

**_HJ: They're all bad. I need you to do better than this. You’re wired to the 6 galaxies. Do better._ **   
**_Unknown: Yes Sir._ **

**_HJ: Do you need anything?_ **   
**_Unknown: More electricity, everything keeps cutting out._ **

Nova closed the chat after that, making sure it was as he left it and pondered, she couldn’t really figure out if it was an AI or a person. She leaned more into the AI idea because what else could be wired to the six galaxies. She noticed that Jack had gone quite a while back, she used her echoeye to thermoscan the room and found Jack on the bed.

She got up, unlocked the door and threw a blanket over him. He stirred, cracking one of his eyes open and muttered. “Don’t ever do that to me again.”

“Don’t be a brat again. Go to sleep.”

"No goodnight kiss?"

"No."

With that Nova left to lie on the couch. She couldn’t sleep so she projected a book that she started reading with her echoeye. When daybreak came so did a sleepy Jack into the kitchen.

“I hate when you do that.” he put a frying pan onto the stove.

“Reading?”

“No, staring without blinking.” He cracked an egg. “Make some coffee will you.”

She did, she made it strong and made sure to find the biggest cup for herself. Jack set the hot pan, the bottom of it burning the table on the table and Nova set the plates, coffee and utensils. They ate in silence only passing the coffee press between them.

Then it was a rush of getting ready for the day, Jack shouting at her to get ready faster and Nova snapping back for him to shut up. She didn’t exactly wash off the dust and grime off herself but rather flicked her clothes enough times that it seemed clean. It smelled even worse.

They left, Jack gave her a tour of the place and Nova made sure to tell him that everything he told her about skags and rakks she already knew. Jack did sound excited so Nova let him ramble on, it was better than having him snarky and pent up like a caged up dog.

He showed her a skag with rakk wings that was slathered with eridium. That was something new and interesting, Jack even picked up on her interest and ordered the 'skragg' as he called it doused with more eridium. It puked it up making Jack holler while Nova focused on how the thing changed colour from it's usual ugly brown to a purple. It then exploded making Nova glad for the glass between her and it.

That was the only notable moment of her tour, even the earful that Jack gave to the overseer didn’t come in close, so when it was time to leave Nova did it with a smile no one would see.

Jack drove and Nova napped until she heard a loud bang and felt the outrunner teeter under her. She saw Jack gripping the steering wheel so hard his knuckles were white and his jaw set so hard she thought he might crush his own teeth.

“A tire blew.” He snapped before she got a word out, he did manage to safely stop by the road. Nova got out first with her sniper digistructed and poised to look around them. So far they were safe.

“Of-fucking-course there is no spare wheel. What goddamn idiot didn’t think of putting a spare wheel in it?” Jack kicked the back of the vehicle. “Common sense, common sen-”

“Pandoran scum don’t have it.” She piped up. “They also don’t have fully working dicks according to you which is why they all look so weird.”

Jack laughed.

“There’s another Catch-a-Ride station three hours from here.” She put the rifle on her back. “So we better start walking.”

She waited for Jack to gather his echo and give one last kick to the outrunner. He bitched and moaned about walking the whole time when Nova proposed running he kicked a rock at her.

With nothing more but 56 minutes of walking left a shot whizzed past Nova’s ear, it clipped her on her cheek. She grabbed Jack by the back of his coat and shoved him in front of her, manhandled him into a deserted shack and felt her shield absorb bullets.

“Nova what th-”

She pushed him down, protected him from the glass shards that rained down on them and the bullets that embedded themselves into the wall. Nova shot him a look and he stayed put in his corner. She crawled to the door they came from and snuck into a good firing position. She could see Jack peeking out from the window and she motioned at him to stay down. She swung the rifle off her back and onto her lap, she activated protocol A1M.exe.

She rolled into action, her eye counting and marking all the enemies. Six crimson raiders. She simply pointed and shot, getting the first two down with headshots before she felt her shield being compromised. She rolled back to her hiding spot. The raiders were getting closer, that was a given and the possibility of her being occupied while Jack was killed was even higher. She threw a rock through the window and Jack’s hair and eyes popped up in the window. She motioned for him to sneak out, his eyes scrunched up and she rolled her eyes. She motioned again, slower and mouthed along. He gave her thumbs up and she watched him slink behind the building. She digistructed her SMG this time, threw a grenade where she knew at least two raiders were and moved.

Rolling out from her cover she threw another grenade and started shooting. Running to where Jack was, she felt her shield fail and a bullet hitting her in her calf. Her wiring sparked but the leg didn’t fail, she huddled Jack against her and shielded him as they moved to a new hiding spot. Jack fired off a few shots, taking down one raider. Still huddled they crouched behind rocks.

“Nova your leg, ar-”

“Fine,” She cut him off and sprinted from behind the rocks, her shield was fully charged and there were only two left. She ran full speed towards her enemies, bounded off a stray boulder and onto the nearest raider. She made sure to dig her heels into the man’s chest, to send out a shock wave into him while digistructing a shotgun. The first man fell and with the help of her echoeye she took down the last one with one shot. She landed and her leg sparked again, sending nothing but pain from her thigh to the base of her neck. She jogged to Jack or tried her best to jog. When she got to where she expected Jack to be she was surprised with him standing over a dead body.

They were both heaving, Jack had blood on his shoes and mask. He grinned when he saw her, his smile predatory and Nova felt her heart skip a beat. Jack motioned at his face and then at her. “Oh sweetheart, you got blood on your face.”

“We should go.” She wiped off the blood with the back of her hand, “Before more show up.”

Jack walked off and she followed.

They finally got to the Catch-a-Ride station, Jack’s arm holding her up since her sparking leg soon became a sparkling mess. The outrunner showed up and Jack helped her in. They sat in it rather than driving off straight away. They had a lot of daylight left and a packet of instant soup each but no water.

“Ahhh,” He finally broke the silence and started the outrunner. “Definitely not boring, missing my cosy chair, pretzels, a whiskey that isn't shit but definitely not bored.”

Nova let out a hum of agreement, trying to fix her leg while not accidentally stabbing herself in the eye as they went over the bumps in the road. Jack kept yammering on about how he would fix Pandora and how he couldn’t wait for Nova to see the Warrior. She did tell him that if he didn't show her the Warrior she would kick him, he agreed to it.

They swapped when it started to get dark and Nova turned the radio off and played music with her implants. A way to keep the noise down and to keep from Jack waking up. She hummed along to her music, let her mind wander and her body to be on autopilot.

She wasn't bored with the trip, it was fun getting to stretch her legs and feel warm blood splatter on her. She didn't feel trapped in space among people she hated, Jack despite his constant moodiness seemed to be enjoying himself too. She did notice how his lips curled into a savage smile when he was shooting at the raiders, how the glint in his eye when he was standing over the body made him look so much more entertained. She drove through most of the night, a straight 20-something hour ride when she finally stopped at the bridge leading to Opportunity. A few war loaders came out but with Jack getting out of the outgunned they stopped, turned and went back to their original spots.

Jack took over and drove the fifteen minutes to the development site. It was mostly barren land, with nothing but tired workers laying the groundwork. Jack snatched the first man to cross his path and ordered the lad to find the head superintendent and bring him to Jack. Nova pointed out the major flaw of the cities defence system and it was the fact that there was no other protection than the two war loaders. There was also no shield to protect the workers.

“Sweetheart, these worker bees are expendable and I don't care all that much for them once they keep working.” He ran a hand through his (somehow not messed up) hair. “A tired worker is a hard worker, the threat of death from bandits and me is keeping them going. I motivate them that way you see?”

She tried to find logic in that but decided not to after thinking about it for a minute too long. The main constructor showed up, his arms burnt and sunglasses on his face. Nova wondered why he even had sunglasses since it was still dark.

Jack barked orders and once again Nova was about to get a tour.

“Jack, it's just a hole in the ground being filled with pipes, wires and cement. There isn't anything to show here.”

He pursed his lips and squinted. “That is very true. Why is that? Progress should be much further than this.” Jack practically hissed the last word.

“Oh, um, Mr Handsome Jack. Sir. We, uhm…” the man stuttered, while Nova pulled up information about him.

**_Darren Bick, age 46, three kids, a wife, four siblings and both parents still alive._ **

“What do I pay you for? To slack around?”

“We...We don’t get paid. Sir.”

“I know but it sounds better,” Jack smoothed out the creases on Darren’s shirt before grabbing a fist full of material. “So. What do I threaten you for, you smartass?”

Darren whimpered and Nova could see his sweat above his sunglasses. He began spluttering about what they did do, and why it was taking so long, and that there were so many deaths during construction already. Jack just smiled as he listened, still holding onto the man and his face mere millimetres from Darren’s, the condemned soul’s sunglasses were even getting fogged by Jack’s breathing.

“No amount of death is to stop this place from being efficient, where is the goddamned transportation unit at the very least, huh?” He shouted so loud that the workers nearby froze in fear. “Get moving.” Darren got shoved back, apparently, Jack realised that someone had to keep this place going and that person was Darren.

“Get me a unit tomorrow morning. You,” He pointed at some other man. “You’re gonna be snitching on this a-hole, I want a report sent every hour understood?”

Nova pulled up the file on that man.

**_Carl Jungo, age 27, fiance and mother alive._ **

“If I don’t and if you fail to impress me,” He said the last part to Darren, “I promise you, I will skin you alive in front of your families.”

“Bu-”

“One Beth Bick and soon to be Nick Jungo should suffice for a start.” Nova name-dropped their family members. “Or would you rather it be your mother? Each family member for each failure?”

Jack grinned at her, his eyes shining with glee at her idea. “Even better. If you fail to impress her, I will skin one of your family members, then serve you their heads on gold plates and if you don’t eat them I will shove it down your gullet.”

Nova rolled her eyes at him, it was a given they would fail if she was to be impressed - so far only two or three things had that effect on her. She did, however, cross her arms and tilt her head at the two quivering men, she’d see what mood she was in on the day she was to be impressed.

“I will be generous and give you two weeks for it. So off you go pork-chop.”

“That’s cruel Jack, you know I don’t get impressed all that easily.”

“I know. They also know.”

Nova’s lips quirked up ever so slightly to which Jack’s grin became bigger. They spent the last two or three hours terrorising the workers or what Jack would call it, inspiring them to do better. It was fun for the most part and when the sun rose up and the land became bright again an engineer came up to them.

“Handsome Jack, Sir! Mrs….”

“Yeah, yeah what do you want snot face?”

“Oh, uhm,” The man was in his thirties as per Nova’s echoeye, and he kept staring at her until she knitted her brows together and stared back. “Sir, the… uhm, the teleportation unit is set up.”

Jack noticed the man staring but didn’t let on. Nova followed Jack, her brows still knitted and her Echoeye searching through more than the Hyperion database. The man seemed familiar somehow but she couldn’t place him. She finally found his information in the secure Dhal databanks, the man - Al Pincho, he was a member of her squad when she worked for Dhal, something she didn’t particularly want Jack to know.

Al explained how the unit would have to be set up from somewhere in Helios to which Jack pulled out his Echocomm and typed away. The unit booted up, beeped and Jack seemed to be happy with that fact.

Al walked away and Nova stared after him.

“Who is he?”

“A loose end,” Nova muttered. “Gonna go kill him.”

“Ex-boyfriend who knows too much? Is it some corporate spy you used to work with? An old co-worker that knows about that shitty college job you had during college which was a stripper-pole dancer combo?” Jack seemed interested and excited to know more, not good, he’d probably pry about it or try to search for him.

“Something like” She stalked after Al, she wasn’t in Dhal’s database, she was a separate contractor, not a full-time agent. She grabbed Al, in the middle of the site where Jack could still see her and broke his neck. When she came back Jack was clapping.

“Absolutely brutal, most undeniably you are a cold-hearted murderer.”  
She put her hands in her pockets and waited for Jack to teleport to his office, she followed him.

In his office she found Jack already in his chair, Jack’s doppelganger standing at his desk and giving a report of what happened while they were gone.

“Hi Jackie,” She greeted Tim, they bumped their forearms as a greeting - at a full length, from fists to elbows.

“You two have a secret handshake! I don’t? Why?” Jack sounded actually offended.

Neither of them got a chance to answer as Jack continued speaking, after a few minutes, they were dismissed. Jack left for his apartment through the teleporter while she left with Jimothy. The doppelganger faded into Jack in mere seconds before they walked to the elevator. They ignored Meg who started to bumble about one thing the other.

Two weeks later found Nova standing behind Jack as he skinned the unfortunate woman known as Darren’s sister. She wasn’t impressed by the progress nor was she in a mood to lie that she was. Opportunity had now one whole building that had no running water, electricity or furniture. It was tall at least and it looked alright to Nova. At least Jack was entertaining at that moment, no matter how bad he was at it or how much Nova wanted to show him how to do it properly.


	2. Two's company, three's a crowd

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ughh stuff happens, there is a party, some espionage, bit-a smut, Tim is precious and Jack is an asshole. Nova still doesn't really care about anything

Three days after their trip to Pandora, Jack was stuck in meetings for most of the Hyperion cycle. Which meant that both Nova and Jackie had a whole 37 hours to themselves. They did the only thing they really could. They holed up in Nova's apartment and binge watched a T.V series about a small town with dark, cryptid activities and murder that was so bizarre that they both joked about it.

Nova pulled out the sofa so they could both lay on it with two large boxes of nachos and five bottles of wine in between them. They wanted to get wasted and they were going to stick to the plan. Nova drank purple lemonade and white wine mix that she made, it was a dangerous drink since it tasted nothing like alcohol and it was sweeter than pure sugar.

"Hey Nova," Jackie began, he was tipsy already, his alcohol tolerance was shit... just like Jack's. "Call me Timothy will you, I mean when we're alone." He took a long drink from his wine glass, he seemed apprehensive of her response.

"I called you that once and you almost had a panic attack."

"Yeah, but, I know you better now and only Jack calls me Tim... sometimes, I hate it. I hate it, even more, when it's Nisha. Not Timmy or Tim-Tams though, or Timbers! Jack calls me that too. I hate it so much."

"Yeah, alright Tim." Nova graced him with a small smile which made his face light up. She wondered why people reacted that way to smiles.

They continued watching the show, they were six episodes in and the main character just found out she was the one causing all the mayhem. The boxes between them were now on the floor and they were both nestled under two blankets. Soon they found themselves spooning each other, first, it was Nova spooning Tim but after she got up to pee and to throw out the nacho boxes it was Tim spooning her. It was comfortable and cosy. Nova decided that Tim was a human furnace or at least part of him was.

They ended up abandoning their glasses in favour of chugging the last wine from the bottle. Nova drank most of it, she was feeling a bit drunk after her third bottle and she knew that if Tim drank any more he'd have a bad time during his sleeping hours instead of just the hours he was awake.

Tim fell asleep first, and being a good person she sometimes chose to be, she turned off the show so they could continue watching it together. She put on a documentary about the production of the first bio-mechanical animal. She found the woman talking boring, but the subject interesting.

It reminded her of when she did work for a woman who had three biomechanical tigers: Mica, Nuka and Ollie if Nova recalled right. She had a fun time watching them rip the woman apart after Nova screwed up their programming. Following the woman’s death, there was an actual reason why Nova had a death sentence on that planet. She didn’t miss it.

Soon, Tim's breathing lulled her to sleep, she timed her TV to switch off after ten minutes of her Echo-eye's inactivity. She didn't dream for the most part but she did wake up at one point, confused as to why she remembered an old colleague - Axton. She hadn't thought of him after she abandoned him one night during their education programme. She fell asleep soon after.

Jack found them on the couch, Tim wrapped around her body and Nova drooling on his yellow shirt.

"Why settle for a knock-off when I'm right here?"

Nova cracked open her eyes to look at Jack who loomed over them. "You want me to drool on you?" She mumbled and shut her eyes, the light was too bright, Jack must have messed with her settings again.

She checked her Echo eye and confirmed it, she turned it back down to what she liked and only then opened her eyes again. She patted Tim's ribs to wake him up but he didn't stir. She got up and cracked her back, nudged Tim with her leg but still, he kept sleeping.

"I'd rather it be my bare chest then a shirt."Jack cracked a smile, he looked exhausted.

"More of a twink then a bear." She turned the heating up with her eye. "Did you mess with my settings?"

"I meant my naked chest and what do you mean I'm a twink? A twink?! No, I'm a bear!" He motioned to his shoulders and chest, he even flexed his arms.

Nova sighed and mentally slapped Jack across his face. "Twink."

"Obviously you never saw a twink in your life. I'll get you one for your birthday if you want. When is your birthday?"

“Check my file.”

“It’s corrupted!”

“I know.” She shuffled to her kitchen and began making herself food and coffee. Jack took the time to wake Tim up. 

"Wake the fuck up Sunshine! Time to go to Elpis." Were the words that Jack screamed into Tim's face.

Tim jumped up and Nova was sure that if it was only her in the room he'd scream. He nodded dimly at Jack and lumbered off to his own apartment to sober up. Probably with Eridium and painkillers. On the way out Jack gave his back a hard slap, Tim stumbled forwards before fully straightening up and grimacing.

"Don't slouch, Cupcake."

Nova almost felt pity for Tim. Almost, which was more than she could say for most people that ordinary people felt compassion for.

She ground the coffee beans that were imported from Promethea just for her.

It was an ordeal and a half trying to get them but she would do it again. It was a coffee worth its price and trouble. It was after a month or two after she started, it was before people of Helios knew who she was. She had to go to provisions and supplies herself for her request to even be acknowledged. Jack got involved, purely by circumstance. He went down to 'gently scold' whoever stocked the vending machines with his least favourite pretzels and Nova being his bodyguard went with him. The guy that was ‘taking care of her request’ came up, sneered and told her request was denied.

It was the first time that Jack did something for her as he took an interest and turned to the guy. Or maybe he just wanted to make someone's life miserable rather than be nice to Nova. She didn’t care, she got her coffee. The guy got demoted to a mailman and everyone in his old department was to degrade him each time they saw him. It was from that moment on that people took a real interest in her, she would hear ridiculous rumours about her and she would even go along with a few.

Her favourite one was that she was a vampire. She heard explanations that it was because she was so stoic, pale and those who saw her smile were dead. She added to the rumour that a particular part of Helio's walls was packed with dead bodies which were the cause for the eerie moan-like noises at night. (It was actually just an echo that bounced around from the trash robots about three corridors down.) Jack found it comical and whenever he caught someone whispering about it he would say a weird, cryptic warning and stare off for a few seconds.

She poured the beans into her coffee press followed by hot water. She made herself a large bowl of cereal and took out two mugs. One black with bold, white letters that read "Fuck off" and one red with orange, yellow and black geometric shapes. She placed the red one at the opposite seat for Jack.

“I’m not making you breakfast.” She sat down at the island with her plate.

“I made some while we were down on Pandora.”

“I remember.” She tucked in and watched as Jack sat down in front of her, his face oddly blank and calm. The bags under his eyes letting her know that he needed sleep for at least nine hours.

“Someone accessed my Echo while we were on Pandora too. Were you the one?” Her boss asked. He used a sort of tone she exclusively saw him use on workers who were on the edge of being killed but not quite there yet. Never on her. She had to tread lightly.

“No.”

“Don’t lie to me, Nova.”

“I’m not.” She actually stopped eating and looked into his eyes. “You gave me no reason not to trust you and your business is your own that I have no intention of prying into.”

Jack’s lips turned into a thin line, his brows cocked and his eyes were colder than the Fridge. “See, I was thinking that you had the perfect chance to do it when I was locked in that bedroom. You’re a crafty little bitch so I wouldn’t be surprised if you could overlap my fingerprints onto you prosthetics.”

“I can do that, but, once again I have no incentive to snoop through your things.” She took a large portion of cereal and having swallowed it she continued on. “You tell me what you want me to know and I accept it. As long as you don’t fuck me over, I won't be out to collect your head.”

Jack took a long sip, stared at her for a moment longer before finally smiling. He tapped his fingers against the tabletop. Nova got away with her lie, his body wasn't tense anymore, his heart rate was steady and if he didn't believe her he would have smashed the cup at the very least.

"I heard you didn't get your leg fixed up." Jack drank his coffee.

"It's not major after I patched it up." She finished her breakfast.

"Heard it's also time for an upgrade, why didn't you ask?"

"Not major, I can go on with these for another half year or so." She tapped her heels against the metal legs of the chair.

"I can't have you not having upgrades when you need them. If you fall apart on me on a job I might just lose my shit."

She held back an 'Aw, shucks, you care' comment.

"What do you need your next ones to have?" Jack asked after finishing his coffee and taking out his Echo.

"Fireproof, corrosive proof, waterproof is the major one." Jack typed her list on his Echo. "Different connectors, less bulky, more padding in the heel and better knee joints. Would be nice if I could store a knife or something in there, or get an extra boost for kicks."

Jack nodded, "What about that shock thingie you do? Keep it?" She nodded yes. "Alright, what about the other bits?"

"Eye is good for now, most upgrades I can do on my own, maybe a different colour but that's just useless aesthetics." Nova was bored with how she and Jack both had blue and green eyes, she wanted a yellow one, or maybe a brown or red or maybe for it to cycle through the whole colour wheel. "Fingers... the nails could extend a bit and it could match my skin tone I suppose, thought about new music implants for a while but, again, not important enough to me to actually look into it."

"Right, I'll get that sorted and tell you the day you're getting them." Jack stood up and pocketed his Echo-comm. "We're going to Promethea after that."

She gave him a thumbs up, then he left to sleep. She decided to clean her home and maybe look at new clothing since she had bullet holes in quite a few of them. That's exactly what she did before she dressed in a Hyperion, yellow and white long-sleeve and black trousers along with boots. She wandered the shopping district and got herself three of the same plain black shirts, three new trousers, a new hoodie and new socks. She decided to spoil herself and get new sunglasses, boots and a simple black ring.

Six cycles went past when she was notified of her surgery date. She also received several schemes and got asked which one she wanted. Nova spent at least two hours pouring over them before deciding on one. She chose the sleek black and silver legs, that had one yellow stripe running down the outside and curved over the toes. She was also told not to drink alcohol and take it easy with training.

The training part was a point she did not uphold as she had to train with Tim and Jack twice a week each. This time around it was Tim's second session of the week.

She liked him, he was a lot more Jack than Jack, or at least he was a version of Jack that she favoured. Jack while being naturally strong saw himself as if he had a body of a greek god - Tim however actually had the body that Jack believed he had (and the better ass to top it off).

She saw them both in various states of nudity from half-naked to clad only in boxers. Most of it was during sparring, or Jack walking into her apartment as if it was his or that one time when Jack dragged in his doppelganger for Nova to pick who was hotter. She stated that if they’re both technically the same person they’re the same level of hotness, which wasn’t what Jack wanted to hear. He left in a huff and left Tim with her which was the perfect opportunity for her to say. “He wishes he had the ass with your kind of class.” That left Tim blushing, his neck and ears flushed at least.

Even during her sparring sessions with them she could tell the distinction, Jack was a brute and his hits were stronger. He was a force to be reckoned with if one didn't know him, like a hurricane that no one was prepared for. Tim, however, knew just the minimal amount of strength needed to do the maximum damage - he didn’t wear himself down as fast as Jack. Tim was also a lot more agile, he had a habit of mostly dodging in a fight until he was certain he had a hit. Precision was his game.

Tim also liked to use Digi-Jacks when they trained, Nova welcomed the challenge and, Tim had the chance to prepare new manoeuvres while the two Digi-Jacks were happy to be out. Nova found it interesting that the AI's developed their own personality and traits. The badass Jack called himself 'Hesperus' while the other one liked to be called 'Phosphorus'. Nova asked once why and they both explained they liked how the words sounded and the fact that they kind of were brothers that were constantly mixed up. Tim called them 'Hes' and 'Phos' for short.

Nova flung Tim down onto the mat before wrapping her forearm around his neck, she squeezed until he tapped out. She got up and they started again. This time she pinned Tim to the wall and twisted his arm to the point of almost breaking it. After that it was a headlock with her legs, pinning him with her knee to the floor, then he slammed her back into the wall and she wrapped her legs around his ribs and squeezed like a boa constrictor.

Then, he finally tripped her up.

Tim leapt onto her, pinned her to the spot and smiled. It was rare for either Tim or Jack to get a one up on her, it really was an achievement for him. He held his training knife to her neck and with a cocked brow and a very Jack-like fashion asked. "What now sweetheart?" 

She replied with a sly smile. 

"Oh no, a smile like that is never good." Tim's smile wavered.

She reached up to his hair with one hand and the other went to the hand he was holding the knife with. She pulled him to her and kissed him, he instantly melded into her and with a sharp tug, she had his knife in her hand. She flipped him over, sat on his stomach and toyed with the knife.

"What now sweetheart?" She mimicked his tone and heard a peal of laughter behind her. It was Jack, howling at Tim's startled face. Nova's smirk disappeared before Jack could see it.

"Oh god, hahaha, your face! Oh man you should have seen it it was all ahrgggg, she got me!" Jack bent over and wheezed.

Nova got off Tim, helped him up and handed back the knife. Jack straightened up, the look in his eyes now vicious. Tim tensed up beside Nova. "I came to see my two favourites going at it but I didn't think you'd be going at it." A small laugh escaped him. "Nova, are you holding back?"

She shrugged, she was, not killing anyone was her holding back.

"Don't do that, how is Jackie over there," she hated how he stresses the name, "Supposed to learn she you're being gentle with him?"

"I don't want to kill him."

"I'm not asking you to. Step it up." He sat in the corner bench, his smile sending more chills down Tim's spine.

She motioned for Tim to put on the protective gear but after hearing Jack scoff Tim didn't. Nova felt something tug at her heart when she thought about what she was going to do but she didn't know what it was. Tim must have seen it in her face because he gave a faint smile.

She kicked him, he had no time to react and went flying into the mats on the walls. He landed with a thud, Nova scanned his ribs and confirmed that they were cracked.

"Now that's what I'm talking about!" Jack encouraged.

Tim stood up, fell into his stance before charging. Nova kicked his legs out from under him and he fell face first before she used her foot to roll him onto his back, she stepped on him, hard enough to satisfy Jack but not enough to break more of Tims' ribs. Jack laughed again, Tim groaned. After that when she was facing away from Jack she would wink either her left or right eye to let Tim know where to expect an attack. They soon had a system which helped fool Jack into believing Tim was keeping up.

When Jack left, Nova caught Tim before he collapsed. He had a bloody nose and probably a split lip under the mask because there was some blood dripping from underneath it. She scanned him again and noted that he had no internal bleeding or punctured lungs. She sat him down and fetched him water and her painkillers. She offered them to Tim with a blank stare, he took them and then looked into her eyes. It made her uncomfortable.

"Do you care?" The way his voice sounded made her heart sore again.

"I don't care about most things but I am quite fond of you, Tim." She looked away, she couldn't stand the look Tim gave her. Tim sniffed and she helped him to his home. She rarely was in Tim's apartment, but she understood why he usually visited her. It was gaudy and from what she knew it was a miniature version of Jack's whole floor, minus a few perks.

She helped Tim into his bed and left her pain killers on his nightstand. She used a half-dose of health syringe on him and was about to leave when he caught her shirt, he pulled her into his bed. She wrapped her arms around him and they fell asleep, sweaty and disgusting but comfortable.

Nova got woken up by her Echo eye notifying her that Jack needed her. She snuck out of Tim's home and took a quick 'shower' from her sink before changing and teleporting to where Jack was. Turned out it was the fashion department, Jack was standing over three designs for hoodies looking absolutely tired and irked. He told her to pick her favourite design and when he saw her distaste at the hoodies he snorted. While she was looking at the designs Jack called the man who made the designs. The man met a sudden end to his career as Jack fed him an acrylic ruler followed by a rotary cutting tool.

Nova pointed at a white hoodie that had... potential and Jack ordered it to be refined. They left for a pretzel and coffee. After that Nova was stuck in Jack's office, reading one of his physical books, most of his books were about coding, weapons and most of them were boring. The book she had now was more a diary with his favourite one-liners. It seemed to her he started it a long, long time ago and kept it up until now. This particular one was named ‘One-Liners. Volume 3.’ Her favourite so far was:

I hope when I inevitably choke to death on gummy bears people just say I was killed by bears and leave it at that.  
Note: Never to be used because death by gummy bears is lame. I am not lame.

She was apparently one of the two people that were allowed to look at his one-liners - the other being Tim. Jack called her over and pointed at a design he was working on. She had no idea what the BUNK-3R was for but she knew it had to be badass and then some, she pointed out any weaknesses she saw and suggested adding a laser turret. She spent another two hours working with Jack on it before Jack dismissed her. She went to check on Tim.

He was awake and he was sitting in the bath when she came in. She waited for him to come out in the sitting room, looking at a picture of him and two girls. He came in, stood beside her and smiled sadly at the photo.

"Janey and Athena. I worked with them before you joined." He sniffed, "I wonder where they are now. Hope they're alright."

She didn't pry, it seemed like a sore topic for him. They ordered dinner, a high-end takeaway and then Nova wrapped Tim's ribs. They watched more of the series before one thing led to another and they found themselves in his bed, slowly kissing and Nova gently trailing her hands over him as he sat on her abdomen.

She pulled him closer, her hands messing up his hair while Tim pulled her shirt up over her head, she took her hands off him, flicked it off before once again letting her hands roam the expanse of Tim’s body. Nova then gently turned them over and hovered over him, he was flushed, his ears and neck at least.

She unclipped the Jack-mask he wore and put it on the nightstand. He had a Vault mark on his face, it looked like a mix of tattooing and some sort of scarring. She didn't ask but assumed that it was a traumatic memory for him but that Jack sported a much worse version of the brand.

She kissed his face, from his temples to his cheeks to his lips. She then kissed him down his body, laying soft kisses and hickeys on him until she stopped at his waist. She moved up, doing the same on her way back up and Tim groaned frustrated, her hands worked on sliding his trackies down.

She took his length and pumped it twice, still kissing him and hiding a smile at him moaning her name. She decided to stop teasing him, she slid between his legs and took him in her mouth. Her hair was immediately grasped and she had to elbow his legs apart to get comfortable. She bobbed up and down, taking her time and teasing him until Tim was a hot mess. He tugged her up by her hair, it wasn't a harsh tug but enough for her to know to stop.

Tim's whole chest was flushed a deep pink. Nova shifted up and he winced as she pressed too hard on his ribs to steady herself. He gently pushed her onto her back and fumbled with her bra clip. She snorted and undid it for him, he flushed even more but threw it off the bed anyway. He kissed along her tattoos, starting in the middle of her throat before moving down to her breasts where he nipped and worked them. After that, he spent his sweet time teasing her, he kissed her all over her body, his fingers exploring her until she moaned a half-assed threat. It was his retaliation for her teasing him.

He shimmied down and started off with long, broad licks on her clit, his fingers tracing an invisible pattern on her hips. Nova practically mewled when he inserted the first finger and then the second. He scissored her and she could see through her half-lidded eyes that he seemed to enjoy what he was doing. He sucked on her clit and her hips bucked involuntarily. He smiled and did it again, Nova let a low moan escape her and Tim sped up his efforts.

Nova lost all sense of self from that moment on as Tim made sure to bring her to an orgasm. She moaned his name when she came and Tim rummaged through his drawer for a condom and lube. He slipped it on, slicked his dick up and lined himself up. He hovered over her as he rocked into her, a steady pace and she kissed him. He sped up, one of his hands drawing quick, tight circles on her clit. He tried to turn her onto her side, but with his sore ribs and the position they were in they fumbled a bit before resuming in a new position. He held her leg on his shoulder (which was bruised from their training and Nova was sure her heel digging in didn't help) and sped up again, this time Nova braced herself against the headboard. He still rubbed her clit but this time around it was sloppy but it got the job done.

He came first, his whole body shuddered and he bent forwards, a loud and long 'ah' coming out of him, Nova came again after a few more strokes. They cleaned themselves up, Nova put on one of his shirts and they made out some more before they fell asleep.

When they woke up next was because of Jack's low whistle and cackle.

"You both finally got laid, wondered if you two would ever fuck or not, albeit," Jack turned to Nova who was once again mentally slapping him "Once again I ask you: why the knockoff when all you have to do is ask?"

Nova grumbled and turned to sleep on her stomach, ignoring whatever conversation Jack had with Tim. She felt finger tracing her tattoo on her back, down the long strip down her back and back up around her shoulders. A light peck and then Tim whispered he had to go, she lifted her head up to kiss him goodbye but he latched onto her shoulder to leave one last hickey on her shoulder, a coy glint in his eyes.

She napped again after that, only waking up to Jack pinning her that Nisha came to visit. She groaned and sighed at the fact she would have to calm them both down from whatever fight they would start and probably end up leaving because they decided that Jack's desk is the best place to fuck.

The day of her surgery finally came.

Nova was out to lunch with Jack who was going over the details of their Promethea trip.

She gazed at the high ceiling and sipped her iced coffee, asking a few questions about the area and the people attending. Her Echo beeped and she let Jack know she had to go. He stood up with her and kept tapping his comm, not caring if there were people in his way or not as he walked with her. They took the elevator down and when she got her final briefing and Jack got whatever information he wanted. She got three cycles off for recuperation and a promise that she would have a week free from training and fights.

It was explained to her that the new legs would not have to be taken off for water but to do that she had to get new connectors which is why she had the upcoming operation.

Her Echo beeped.

Jackie: Know this is worth shit but good luck in the surgery.

She didn't change the name to Tim, but then again she did have a whole five people in her contacts and she really only used two - Jack and Jackie.

She was dressed in her operation scrubs when Jack gave a smile that was actually reassuring, said a few words that included death threats for the doctors and left. She got anaesthesia and her last thought was about a biomechanical diamond pony and if it was possible to have it made.

Then she simply woke up.

The new attachments were sleek, lighter and defiantly better. She was told she had all her previous attributes plus more. They were fully waterproof, she could camouflage them to seem like real legs, her shock kicks were stronger and could be set on fire with little to no damage. Less charging needed too, only once per month instead of twice weekly. 

She smiled to her self as she explored them with her hands. They seemed to flow from her flesh rather than have a bulky connector, her fingers matched. She was also told that they made her joints more resistant to wear and tear and her heel cushions were state of the art.

He fingers were similar to her legs, sleek and could also appear as normal flesh, her nails could be extended to match her real ones along with her old abilities, she could now send electric shocks from them. Her echo eye got a new retina that she could change her eye colour at will and even she got a special upgrade programmed for her that she had to upload herself.

Her music implants were switched to better ones, her old ones were removed and two small scars remained on her neck. The new ones were located just at the base of her ears and her left implant plant was slightly larger due to an inbuilt port. She liked it there a lot more rather than having one in her temple.

She got up, wobbled and started to get dressed. However, the doctors tried their best to haul her back to bed, saying she needed rest and recovery time. She didn't listen, just strode behind the changing curtain and was halfway done when she heard Jack's voice.

"She better off resting in her own bed rather than this ethanol stinking place." She peered out and saw it was Tim rather than Jack. "Get out."

The doctors scampered and Tim, still keeping his Jack impersonation but softer asked her how she was. She babbled about the diamond pony, still high on the medication she was on and he laughed, he explained that she had to make her own way to the elevator because Jack would never actually assist her. She nodded and she shuffled after him, as soon as the door closed he held her up and made the elevator to go to a private floor where they could teleport to their shared landing area.

There he helped her to bed and tucked her in. She passed out immediately, sore from the little walking she did. She drifted in and out of consciousness, she saw Tim or maybe Jack a few times, she also recognised a doctor or two before she drifted off.

Jack or Tim visited her twice more, she grabbed whoever it was and muttered something which made him laugh, then she pulled him in, hoping it was Tim and snuggled. When she woke up, she was alone, her hair a mess and her whole body sore from laying for too long. She noticed the IV bag she was hooked onto. She pulled it out, did a bad job because blood squirted from where it was lodged in. She used a quick health syringe and it healed up. The pain in her body eased off ever so slightly but she did take two painkillers before getting up.

She dressed and decided to go to the gym. She ate something small before she left and was surprised at the better sound quality of her music implants. She started running, a light jog, to get used to her brand new and shiny legs.

She had to stop suddenly as Jack walked out onto the track. He stood with his arms crossed and head cocked.

"This is not resting, you still have two cycles left so you're going to bed now." She could hear him over the music playing.

"I'm taking it easy." Her thighs were sore, "I hate staying in bed."

Jack glared, "Worse than a brat." She got picked up by him and carried over his shoulder to her room. She felt him tremble and he was wheezing ever so slightly by the time they got to her bed. "Now sleep, rest, whatever. I need you in peak condition in two weeks time and anything you do to make that not happen is going to have repercussions."

With that, he left and Nova was stuck reading, sleeping, eating and watching T.V for two cycles. The third cycle started her official recuperation which she breezed through and she did make sure to let the doctors and nurses know what would happen if they didn't clear her for work.

The rest of the week was boring and simple for her, just walking behind Jack and looking evil. She listened to audiobooks and podcasts with her new audio implants during those days. It wasn't like she had to actually do anything.

That is how most of her days until the Maliwan meeting were spent. She was sore less and by then she felt like she always had the same legs.

On the day, a few hours before the Maliwan meeting which Jack forgot to tell her was also a party. She got a box from him, it was yellow and had a black ribbon around it. She opened it to reveal a dress and a note.

-Got you a dress for the party  
-Make-up artist on her way  
-Let your hair down  
-J

She scoffed, if it was up to her she would show up in her usual clothing with maybe a bit more make-up on than usual, maybe. She picked the dress up and studied it, the fabric was nice, it was long and it had a tiger-like pattern on it. Rather than brown or orange with black being used it was black and yellow.

She tried not to grimace when she saw the cut-out part of the dress. The front cut out was long almost to her navel, a thin strip holding the material that would cover her boobs in place, the sides and back were opened with thin strap crossing at the nape. It additionally had a slit which she liked because in case of running she could truly do so.

She put it on and then went to find double sided tape to keep the low cut out from slipping. She taped it to the top of her boobs and decided that yes, she did look damn fine in it but that she would burn it as soon as she could. She went to put on a pair of heavy boots that would be concealed by the dress and would probably piss off Jack when he saw them.

The woman that was to do her makeup arrived, she was short, cute and obviously liked the colour pink as she wore it head to toe. Nova was told to sit down at the kitchen counter and then the woman proceeded to apply what felt like a bucket of paint on her face. Her hair, at Nova’s request, got put into a fancy bun, her fringe got pinned back into what Nova could only describe as being a 'big whooshy waves that would put Handsome Jack to shame'. She made her fingers match her skin tone and allowed the woman to paint her nails black. The woman left soon after, leaving a lipstick in case Nova needed a touch up (she wouldn’t remember about it).

She looked at herself in the mirror, her boots were hidden, the dress was loose enough to hide any weapon outlines that she had strapped to her body and her face wasn’t a horror show. She liked the brown and gold eyeshadow that the woman used as well as the crisp eyeliner. Yet, the shimmer on her shoulders and collarbone was a bit much in her opinion. Her tattoos somehow didn't look terrible with the dress but the woman did offer to cover them up.

She snapped a photo with her Echo-eye, something no one would ever see nor a thing she would look at.

Jack marched in as she was trying to wipe off some of the shimmers off her tattoos and whistled when he saw her.

“Who are you and what have you done to my Nova?”

“Hi, Jack.” She let him cruise around her and looked at her, “take a picture it’ll last longer.”

He wore a three-piece suit. His slacks, shirt and black derby shoes with a black heel. His jacket was a bright yellow with black lapels and his cufflinks were tiny gold ‘H’s. He had no tie, his shoelaces were a matching yellow and his hair seemed to be more fluffy than usual.

“We’ll get plenty of photographs taken later, don’t worry your head about it.” He motioned for her hand and she obliged. “Now, this bracelet will work with your magic fingers and blah blah blah, it’s basically a tiny storage deck for two guns.” He closed the Hyperion H-shaped clasp and the gold chain dangled from Nova’s right hand.

“Now,” Jack raised his voice, “Let's go to that bloody corporation summit shit-show of a party. God, I hope someone dies.”

They took a shuttle to a waiting Maliwan ship that housed a transportation unit with the coordinates to the party. They teleported and were instantly greeted with a range of alcohol (they both took the most expensive whiskey) and a bot that escorted them to the party. It spewed information about Maliwan and the region, listing off the CEOs of the multiple companies and any other notable members that were attending. Nova downloaded files on the mentioned people she didn't have already. Jack noticing her eye glowing smirked.

The bot introduced them to the whole hall full of people, it was grand and gaudy. Jack’s arm snaked around her waist and he pulled her in closer to his body. A swarm of photographers huddled around them and to Nova’s great displeasure she had multiple pictures taken. They finally let them through, Jack’s and her arms linked. Jack seemed to love the attention and she wished she could leave already. He leaned in so close she could feel his breath tickled her. "What a bunch of parasitic brown-nosers."

The first three hours were quite slow, people arriving, being announced and then mingling with others. Jack was currently flirting with some man from Vladof trying to gain information on Iron Bears, he kept filling up the lad’s wine glass and the lad was slowly starting to talk. Nova took that time to note any escape routes, lack of cameras, windows, security and had a scan going for anyone with a weapon.

She nudged Jack when Ivan Vladof walked up to them and dragged the man away. He had a passing resemblance to Nurse Nina but Nova would not call them siblings if her file didn’t state otherwise. They had the same nose and that's where the similarities ended.

Jack scowled at Ivan’s back and they went to get more liquor, for Jack at least, Nova decided on a fizzy drink with bright orange ice-cubes. They sat down at their designated seats for dinner. Each organisation had its own table for twenty or so people, the galaxy's board of health, weapon manufacture, defence and trade had their own too.

She had hacked into Maliwan's data banks and downloaded the plan of the company while waiting for her food. She stared at the chandelier above her and wondered how much it weighed.

She sat at Jack’s right hand, Blake was across from her and beside her was the head designer of Hyperion’s weapons - Darren. He was a man in his fifties and Nova instantly despised him for the sharp fragrance he wore. Across from him sat his assistant, younger than her boss but older than Nova. She seemed to enjoy her time, talking to the woman beside her but once Darren started talking to her, her smile dropped and she seemed to have a hard time not leaving.

The dinner itself was delicious, she chose a skag heart appetiser, a chicken main dish and a large portion of tiramisu along with coffee. However, she did check her and Jack’s dishes for poison. She didn’t have to use her test strips any more, she simply hovered her fingers over the meal and her Echo-eye showed her the information.

After that, the entertainment started. Entertainment for some but for Nova it was a long and boring process of people showing off. The thing that almost piqued her enthusiasm was a pink skag that jumped over fire pits and walked on its front legs. Then she was forced by Jack to dance with him. He was one of the better people that she had to dance in her life but she still rather dance on her own, in her underwear while she was home alone, listening to music that she actually liked.

Jack pulled her close to him when a slow song started and she felt his fingers draw tiny circles on her lower back, he turned his head to whisper in her ear. "So why the knock off?" His words were slurred a tiny bit.

“I don’t do boss-employee relationship.” she kept her voice flat, factual one might say.

They danced for a while longer Jack pestering her about random things, her giving cryptic answers that didn't really answer his questions. He mostly asked about Tim and he started to call her a doll.

"You see Doll, your skin is so fucking pale and your face and eyes are so dead you might as well be one. Walking and sometimes talking doll." Jack explained. "And tell me again, why are you like this?"

By the time they stopped and people started leaving, she got Jack to drop the subject that was her and dragged him to sit. Nova figured that they were at least 8 hours there already. She concluded that Jack had an alternative motive of being at the party that she was not yet aware of. He would have been the first to leave calling everyone shit-shovelling-dick eaters.

They were sitting in the corner of their meal area, a whiskey each and observing everyone. She asked the bartender to cut the whiskey with water for Jack because even if he was controlling his drinking urges he was nearing the fine line of wanting to murder people. Then again, that would have been more interesting.

Nova used her foot to drag over a chair and propped her feet on it. Jack stared at her boots, then at her face then back at her boots.

“You don’t own heels do you.”

“No.”

“I knew I should have gotten heels to go with the dress.”

“Wouldn’t wear them."

Jack laughed before he grew miffed. He ranted on about it while Nova sipped her drink, tuning in and out.

“How about a wager,” she began, swirling her ice cubes in the tumbler, “I will buy heels, start wearing them if you wear heels for a full Hyperion cycle.” She cracked her neck. “Make it a month and I’ll even start wearing outfits that you pick out for me. If you don’t make it you never bother me about wearing heels ever again.”

Jack seemed to consider it, she had to hide her smile by sipping her drink. She never made wagers she couldn't win. He called over the first Hyperion woman he saw, she flushed when she saw Jack's smile at her. He ordered her to take her heels off and put them on. They were too small for him, he walked like a new-born deer and the woman watched in horror as he snapped the heels.

He kicked them off into the corner, shooed the woman away (who was complaining about how fucking expensive they were but that she was happy to have her flats) and sat down to put his own shoes on.

“No, I won’t take you up on that wager.” Jack leaned back.

They sat and people watched for a while until Maliwan's son came up - Kitagawa Maliwan. He had a bottle of Maliwan Black Label and three glasses. He sat across from them, set everything on the table and poured them each a drink.

He was young, way too young and stupid looking to be an heir to a corporation of any sort. His hair was much like Jack's, but a lot more gelled-up and a lot more swept up. To top it off he wore a bright blue suit that shimmered green, a yellow tie and red shoes.

He looked like a ridiculous cockerel.

“Jaaack!” The kid drawled, obviously drunk.

Jack let out a quiet ‘Not this fucking kid’ and Nova rolled her eyes and it wasn’t unnoticed by Kitagawa.

“Oh, hello there pretty thing. My name is Kitagawa, I’m the head of the provisions and future CEO of Maliwan. ” He turned to her, “Car-”

“Shove it.” She cut him off, crossed her arms and cocked her head. Jack laughed and slapped the table in front of him. Kitagawa wasn’t discouraged.

“Would you care to dance with me?” He gave what Nova suspected was a charming smile.

"Are you deaf? She said shove it.” Jack snapped at him and Kitagawa’s smile broadened as he turned to Jack.

“Jaaack, the main man, how are you doing?”

“Was a lot better when you weren’t here.” Jack huffed, “Seriously fuck off kid before I and Nova shove this whole bottle up your ass.” He pushed his glass filled with Maliwan Black Lable. “Seriously, tastes like what I imagine skag piss tastes like. Maybe even worse.”

That left the kid offended, his ears went red and his already dramatic eyebrows arched so much that a drag queen would be jealous. He got up, snatched the bottle and stormed off.

“I hate that kid so much, can’t wait to watch him choke on his own blood one day.” Jack took the rest of his whiskey and downed it. “Let's go.”

“Finally, I hate this party.”

“Oh we’re not leaving the party yet Doll, we’re following Kittygay to the upper levels and then snooping around to find their server rooms. We’re going phishing.”

Nova almost cracked a smile, things were getting almost enjoyable and she finally got to explore the area. They followed Kitagawa who headed upstairs and past security guards. The stairs were walled off which was a very good thing. They reached the two security guards and were stopped, the area was secluded, for the most part, the only place someone could spot them doing things they shouldn’t be doing was behind them. Currently, there was an opening, no one going up the stairs or behind the guards. Nova wrapped her arms around the first man, making sure her face came close to his own.

He was confused by her actions and appeared even more startled for a split second when Nova sent a shock into his neck and through his body to knock him out. She stepped back and with a coy glint in her eyes, she looked at the other guard. He reached for his gun but Jack was quicker, with what looked like a steak knife he pointed it at his jugular vein.

“Hush now kiddo.” Jack smiled at the guard, Nova didn’t wait for Jack’s command and with a simple touch of her pinky and ring finger, she sent a shock into the man’s chest. They dragged the two men down the corridor and into the first door they found (it turned out to be a small break room). The set them up to look like they were napping and not actually dead.

Nova opened the map of Maliwan and told Jack the place he could find servers, which was downstairs, between the wine cellar and the prisoner cells. They strolled down the hall, towards where the map said the stairs would be, down they went and then again they were off to find stairs.

“Why is it that they have no elevators? Don’t they know walking sucks?”

“It’s an old building they have for these events, so no elevators, escalators, lasers, turrets and no cameras.” Nova shrugged and continued on, there were very few guards considering the fact that most of them were at the party. “So why the servers?”

“I can connect to the main servers from these ones, steal their info, like the real good stuff, like better than that bullshit elemental crap they do, without being noticed straight away, trusted source and all that crap.” He peered past a corner where two guards stood to the final stairway. “Then again my awesome coding skills shouldn’t get me noticed at all but I don’t know their systems all that well. Take the one on the right.”

Nova handed him one of her knives and they snuck up. It would be a cleaner cut than a steak knife, easier to handle and hide. Jack seemed to stab the man straight in the jugular vein while Nova slit the guard's throat. Nova hummed at the satisfaction that the dress was ruined but then let out a quiet groan because they couldn’t sneak out the way they came in. They were both splattered with blood, Jack could play the ‘I had a nosebleed’ card but the bottom of Nova’s dress was soaking in blood like a dehydrated man drinking water.

They continued on, leaving bloody footprints behind. Jack decided to stop at the wine cellar to pick out the most expensive drinks they had, Nova carried three bottles (Champagne, red wine and tequila), Jack had four (Two whiskey bottles, vodka and cognac).

In the server room, Jack attached a small, black and surprisingly unbranded device to cables. Nova didn’t know enough to actually know what it was or how it worked but if Jack wanted it that way she didn’t dispute it.

They left, the blood on their shoes dried, the bottles clinking along the way and alerting only three people - two guards and a janitor. The janitor simply looked at them, nodded and continued on cleaning in the opposite way that they came from. The guards, however, decided to investigate the noise. They were almost at the exit heard them coming down the corridor, they were just around the corner.

Nova without thinking opened the first door she saw and pushed Jack into the room. It small and for the standards that obnoxious people had, it was a cosy and empty living room. Jack face lit up with a filthy smile as he set the bottles on a wooden cupboard. Nova set her bottles in the plush chair, waiting for the door to open so she could take care of whoever came in.

“If you want to be alone with me in a room just say so.” His voice dropped, his attempt at sounding sexier.

“Focus Jack.”

“We could have lied to them.”

Nova just blinked at him, dumbfounded.

“We got the booze, we just went to get booze nothing else.” Jack shrugged.

“We have blood on us.”

“We can lie its wine.”

“I genuinely don’t know if you're being stupid or a moron.”

Jack made a sound that was somewhere between a laugh and an offended gasp. He opened his mouth but at the same time so did the door. A flash of panic crossed his face and Nova was surprised that he actually didn’t want to be tied to stealing Maliwan’s information.

He forced her into the wall beside the door, bundled her dress and press the bloody material against her before his body press up. He caged her in, kicked her legs apart and dived in for a kiss. Nova’s instant reaction was to back off but the wall and the two guard's presence prevented her from doing so. She wrapped her hands around Jack’s neck and kissed back. He was more forceful, more bitey and impatient than Tim.

One of the guards cleared her throat, the other one spoke. “I’m sorry but you can be in here fornicating.”

Jack turned his head to face them “Hmm, just give me a minute.” He turned back to kiss her again.

“If you’re still here in five minutes we’re going to drag you out.” The second guard warned and left, the woman followed him with an unimpressed look on her face.

“Huh, it actually worked.” Jack was still pressed against her, looking at the door, she pushed him off and smoothed out her dress.

“We can wait for them here and take their uniforms?” She suggested. “We’d need to knock them out.”

“No, we need to break their necks. They were witnesses.”

“So was the janitor.”

“Janitors are too scared to say anything.” He took off his jacket and waistcoat only to throw them into the small fireplace. He rolled his sleeves up and Nova stared off into oblivion. She weighed the pros and cons of hooking up with Jack but her train of thought didn't get very far as the door opened again.

Nova stood beside the door and was hidden behind it when it opened. Jack played the part of 'I'm just getting dressed'. As soon as Nova closed the door, Jack grabbed the woman’s head and broke it, Nova took a step forward and aimed a precise hit to the back of the male guard’s neck and covered his mouth. He would suffocate since she just broke his spine and trachea. She pinched his nose closed with the hand that was covering his mouth and with her arm she wrapped it around his neck to speed up the process.

"How much force did you have to use for that hit?" Jack had a sick smile on his face. She didn't answer.

They stripped the guards, threw their own clothing into the fire and dressed in the uniforms. The uniforms were too small on both of them, Jack had awkward creases around his armpits and Nova’s trousers ended at least an inch above where they should have ended. She pulled her black socks up to try and blend the black material into her boots. Nova snuck out of the room while Jack was changing and found a changing room for the guards, there she found a large duffle bag that she emptied and brought it back. They put the bottles in there, as well as Jack’s shirt, his trousers, cufflinks, and the weapons that were visible under Nova’s stolen uniform. They put on the hats (which Jack bitched about) and left with the bag. 

Jack had the bag slung over his shoulder and Nova led the way. She planned a route around the border of the party, where there were fewer guards and no party-goers. They didn’t stop and they weren’t stopped, only by a droid that offered them water, Nova took one and continued on. They were at the back entrance of the teleportation room when they realised that they weren’t going to pass in the uniforms.

Jack had an idea that Nova would put on Jack’s shirt, he’d change back into his slacks and they would walk back in. They did that, they had no other plan that didn’t involve causing a commotion they didn’t want.

Before they stepped out, Jack let down and messed up Nova’s hair, then his own, he opened two buttons of the shirt she wore (which was very nice and she planned on stealing it) and then kissed her again until he deemed ‘her lips were puffy enough’. He then took off the uniform-jacket and was left in a simple white shirt.

They walked in, the man with the guest book looked at them, sighed and asked for names. Nova played her part, she clung onto his arm and 'tried to hide' her face in Jack's torso. It was more for the fact she couldn't bother acting starstruck or dazed. The man pointed them to their teleportation unit and they were off. Seconds later they were in the temporarily parked Maliwan ship, Nova smoothed back her hair and fixed the shirt. Jack opened the bottle of tequila they stole, took a swing and gave it to Nova. They boarded the Hyperion shuttle to Helios.

Jack had a wild smile and look in his eyes when he stepped out of the shuttle that dropped ever so slightly when he had to wait for Nova. She was rolling up the trousers so that they stopped at her knees.

She understood she wasn’t dismissed yet and followed Jack to his office. They walked to a teleportation station, passing the bottle between them and Jack laughing. They arrived in his office where Jack pinned her to his desk. He hovered over her, millimetres from her face and his breath smelling like a commotion of alcohol that should kill.

"So, you never answered. Why the knock-off."

"Jack, get off."

"Not until you answer the question."

"I prefer him more to you."

His face contorted into a livid scowl that Nova never saw before. However, as soon as it appeared it disappeared, a smile appeared but Nova knew what kind of smile it was. It was borderline murderous. His hands trailed to her wrists where he kept them.

"That's because we never got to fuck. I understand it's because boss-employee relationships are frowned upon, you're all about the rules and he's the next best thing. Don't you worry Doll, I won't tell your boss."

The kiss he gave her caused her head to be knocked back, she gave a low hiss at the sudden but mild pain. Her mind returned to thinking about the pros and cons of actually fucking him. She had none. No pros or cons, she wasn't particularly horny nor did she have anything to gain from him.

She rather let him kiss her, let him trail down her neck and unbuttoned the shirt she wore.

She didn't particularly kiss back as she didn't particularly want to be in a position she currently was. However, she also didn't particularly care what Jack did nor care for her own safety. The only two reasons were:

1\. She was curious as to his constant claims of being a sex god that she quite frankly thought were bullshit  
2\. He would have been an annoying pain in her ass if she didn't let him.

Then her mind wandered to the docuseries she wanted to watch, it was about some place called Alaska. She wondered what planet it was on but before she could look it up with her echo eye she felt Jack stick his hand down her trousers. Her body jerked up to his touch, her face, however, told a different story. It was stoic as usual but she was sure that Jack felt the fact she was disappointed.

He was rough, rubbing circles on her clit and yet not even getting close to getting Nova off, he lacked the fineness that Tim had. Jack latched onto her neck, sucking dark hickeys and biting her until she was bruised. Most of her neck tattoo’s would hide them but some parts of her pale skin would show them off.

Jack littered her with hickeys and bruises all the way down to her navel, he nipped (a lot harder than Tim so it wasn’t all that nice) her nipples and kept up his not so great ministration on her clit. She sighed, pushed Jack’s head down and undid her belt and trousers, only for Jack to slap her hands away and push them down to her ankles.

“Impatient much?” Jack undid his own belt and zipper. Nova was even more disappointed when Jack simply stroked himself to full hardness and lined up. He pushed in, the one good thing that Nova did like about him was his pace, it was faster and rougher than Tim’s but she was sure if she just asked Tim to pick up the pace he’d oblige.

Nova gave Jack the benefit of the doubt that he was nervous and that it just wasn't his day. He wrapped his hands around Nova’s neck and Nova didn’t deny that it was something she was going to ask Tim to do.

She was on the edge of lacking oxygen when Jack eased off, another thing he seemed to be good at. Then again he did like choking people quite a bit so he might just be good at telling when choking was too much. He shuddered, his hips faltered and Jack let out a deep, guttural groan. He pulled out, came all over her stomach before wiping it down with the shirt that was splayed around her arms.

It wasn’t that Nova timed him but she genuinely had nothing better to do during her time with the ‘sex god’. Jack lasted maybe a full five minutes.

“See, wasn’t that bad.”

“Hmm, hope it’s better the next time.” She only rolled her eyes which Jack didn’t see as he was tucking himself in and she kept staring at the high ceiling. She sat up on the desk and closed the shirt. She would burn it in her bathroom sink.

Jack seemed to take her tone as one of joy and agreed to ‘rock her world even harder’ the next time.

There would be no next time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "I'm sorry for the lack of chandelier smashing" - me @ Liz
> 
> Leave a comment or two

**Author's Note:**

> Got the next chapter started, have no idea where this is going but at least I have an ending planned out, but the next bit might not be uploaded until June because of reasons.
> 
> Lemme know what you think, or don't, it's really up to you.


End file.
